Looking down on the NatWest Tower, what was once London's tallest building from the free viewing platform at The Lookout, 8 Bishopsgate.

#photooftheday #pictureoftheday #london #thelookout #dusk #sightseeing #touristystuff #viewingplatforms #thelookout

London all lit up and pretty...
The Sky Garden and The Shard at dusk seen from the free 50 story viewing platform at The Lookout, 8 Bishopsgate.

#photooftheday #picoftheday #london #thelookout #dusk #sightseeing #touristystuff #viewingplatforms #8bishopsgate

A curated experience of 'nature'
Explorers conquering the outdoors effortlessly to get a photo

* "It’s common for Australians to use social media to find their next hike or swimming spot. Influencers ... can send large numbers of unprepared visitors to fragile or hazardous environments...People want to watch people do crazy things… not talk about risk.”

"Our increasingly curated experience of the outdoors – from manicured trails to social media-driven expectations – has weakened the sense of personal responsibility that once came with venturing into nature."

"Social media funnels huge numbers of people into the same photogenic spots... About a third of visitors said Instagram had influenced their decision to visit, and many described going “for the photo” rather than for the walk or the landscape itself."
>>
https://theconversation.com/travel-influencers-do-crazy-things-to-entertain-us-and-downplay-the-risks-271400

* How Do We Tackle the Paradox of Accessibility in the Outdoors?
"Accessibility Has Been a Moral Good Without Challenge"
>>
https://weareexplorers.co/paradox-of-accessibility/

* A Survey Reveals Aussies Are Lacking Hiking and Outdoor Safety Skills >>
https://weareexplorers.co/aussies-lack-outdoor-safety-skills/
#NationalParks #nature #biodiversity #outdoors #accessibility #bushwalking #RecreationalIndustry #spectacle #experience #consumption #entertainment #NPs #infrastructure #ViewingPlatforms #views #landscapes #SettlerSociety #SocialMedia

National Park ranger: Environmentally fragile sites are trampled for content.

“We started seeing people in high heels. People bringing their cats in a backpack for a quick visit. Not bushwalkers. A new kind of visitor."
https://stories.theconversation.com/the-instagram-effect-dying-for-the-perfect-photo/
#NationalParks #tourism #infrastructure #ViewingPlatforms #selfies #biodiversity #habitat

Diggers Beach is located in #Coffs Coast Regional Park. Masked lapwings patrol the surfline. White-faced Herons pick their way through the dunes and White breasted sea eagles soar over the beach. The flowering coastal banksias are overpowered with flocks of Lorikeets.The Horsetail Casuarinas are rich with seeds for the Glossy Black #Cockatoos.
The beach is supposed to be dog free, as dogs are not permitted in National Parks and Nature Reserves. Locals regularly set their pets free on this beach. Like all other NSW beaches there is never any enforcement.

The beach is buffered by a thin strip of native vegetation separating it from the many car parks and picnic areas behind it. The official beach access is via two #ViewingPlatforms. The two major #loookouts have been constructed to lead motorists to these platforms so they can see. Every few meters impatient people/ motorists have trailblazed numerous extra trails to the beach and bush in between the designated viewing platforms. Each newly made trail slowly erodes. The mostly native vegetation scaffolding the dunes from ocean storms is eroding. Large banksias and huge pandanus topple down the dunes.
Additionally, the absence of effective #ClimateAction increases the #CoastalErosion damage. The tourist infrastructure collapses. The constructions crumble like cardboard and the foundational pillars are exposed and washed down the beach. Various anthropogenic rubble is then sloshed along the beach.

Beach erosion: Satellites reveal how climate cycles impact #coastlines
https://phys.org/news/2023-02-beach-erosion-satellites-reveal-climate.html

Australia's new 2030 emissions reduction target remains one of the weakest in the developed world.
https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/resources/new-global-climate-ranking-sees-australia-go-from-dead-last-to-far-from-pass/
#Coastal #Erosion #NSW #DiggersBeach #CoffsHarbour #Biodiversity #DoNothing #Climate #Coal